The sixteen essays in this volume reflect a wide range of research concerning methods for metals conservation, particularly in respect to ancient and historic objects. The variety of issues discussed includes considerations in the cleaning of ancient bronze vessels; the processes involved in bronze casting, finishing, patination, and corrosion; studies of manufacturing techniques of gold objects in ancient African and medieval European metalworking; techniques of mercury gilding in the 18th century; an investigation of patina in the classification of bronze surfaces from land and lake environments; an examination of bronze objects from the Benin Kingdom, Nigeria; the history of restoration of the Marcus Aurelius monument in Rome; the corrosion of iron in architecture; and applications of radiographic tomography to the study of metal objects.

Section 1 (PDF, 96pp., 4.3MB)
Includes:
Preface; Foreword; "The Monument of Marcus Aurelius: Research and Conservation;" "Restoration of the Monument of Marcus Aurelius: Facts and Comments;" "Bronze Objects from Lake Sites: From Patina to 'Biography';" "The Royal Art of Benin: Surfaces, Past and Present;" "Considerations in the Cleaning of Ancient Chinese Bronze Vessels;" "Tomography of Ancient Bronzes."

Section 2 (PDF, 98pp., 4MB)
Includes:
"Chinese Bronzes: Casting, Finishing, Patination, and Corrosion;" "The Corrosion of Bronze Monuments in Polluted Urban Sites: A Report
on the Stability of Copper Mineral Species at Different pH Levels;" "The Technology of Medieval Jewelry."

Section 3 (PDF, 123pp., 4.9MB)
Includes:
"Gold Foil, Strip, and Wire in the Iron Age of Southern Africa;" "Conservation of Architectural Metalwork: Historical Approaches to the Surface Treatment of Iron;" "Techniques of Mercury Gilding in the Eighteenth Century;" "Production and Restoration of Nineteenth-century Zinc Sculpture in Denmark;" "Real-time Survival Rates for Treatments of Archaeological Iron;" "Conservation of Corroded Metals: A Study of Ships' Fastenings from the Wreck of HMS Sirius (1790);" "The Conservation of Outdoor Zinc Sculpture."